Controversial former Great British Bake Off contestant Diana Beard has revealed she left the show after losing her sense of smell.

Mrs Beard said she had hit her head in a freak fall after fainting, which had severed her olfactory nerve meaning she could no longer detect scents.

She said she had lost some of her sense of taste as well.

Diana Beard said a freak fall had severed her olfactory nerve Credit: BBC

The 69-year-old from Shropshire sparked a storm of criticism accusing her of "sabotaging" fellow contestant Ian Watters' Baked Alaska dish in episode four, after appearing to remove his ice cream creation from the freezer so it would melt.

She said the announcement that she would not be returning for episode five had been brought forward by the BBC, following the outcry against her apparent actions - which she said boiled down to no more than editing.

At least people will know I haven't wimped out. It's a relief, as people now know the truth.

The Great British Bake Off stars Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have landed their own daytime chat show on ITV.

Giedroyc joked: "I've been asked to host a show with somebody called Porkin? Parkin..? Portly..? I've never heard of her - but I'll be very happy to meet her soon."

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins got their big break when they appeared on French And Saunders and have hosted TV and radio shows as a duo and separately. Credit: PA

ITV said the pair will chat with "the nation's best-loved celebrities and some of Britain's quirkiest real life characters" in the duo's first daytime job since they fronted Light Lunch and Late Lunch on Channel 4 between 1997 and 1998.

The pair, who met at university in Cambridge, have appeared with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood on the hit baking show since its launch in 2010.